How Not to Legalize Marijuana

Believe me, I understand as well as anyone the frustration that often gets stirred up in the fight for marijuana reform. Watching as our opponents lie relentlessly, as innocent lives are lost, as another opportunity for peace and justice slips by each day this vicious war rages on, I can completely sympathize with anyone who's more than a little upset about it. But whatever you do, make sure it isn’t this:

Wellington, New Zealand police will decide Friday whether to charge cannabis legalization activists who pushed a shopping cart full of burning marijuana into the central police station foyer.

Officers will study CCTV footage showing the shopping cart loaded with smoking weed being pushed into the central police station at the height of a legalization protest, reports 3 News. [Toke of the Town]

Ok, ok, so it's kinda funny. But seriously, this is exactly the kind of stuff that makes people think marijuana reformers are a bunch of hopelessly stoned psychos who will terrorize our communities if allowed to do as they please. Rioting in the streets isn't going bolster our argument that legalization will make the streets safer. Burning cannabis in public isn’t going to placate people who don't want to smell pot in public places. Acting angry and crazy isn't going help us persuade anyone that we're nice normal people. It doesn’t work that way.

This principle applies not only to zealots playing outrageous pot pranks at the police station. It applies all the time, anywhere and everywhere that the debate over marijuana laws is taking place. If we want to win, we have to earn the respect and trust of people who might otherwise think we all belong behind bars. We have to relate to them, which means any protest idea that seems hilarious to a group of pissed off potheads is probably a terrible plan for changing minds about marijuana laws. And in this case, also a rather ridiculous waste of perfectly good pot.